Lenny Megliola: Red Sox equipped with solid foundation

After finishing the World Series by blowing some high heat through thin air that Seth Smith heard clearer he saw, Jonathan Papelbon's face went Jack Nicholson maniacal.

Lenny Megliola

After finishing the World Series by blowing some high heat through thin air that Seth Smith heard clearer he saw, Jonathan Papelbon's face went Jack Nicholson maniacal.

His eyes became saucers, his arms flailed, his mouth opened wide. If you didn't know the circumstances, Papelbon would have posed a menacing figure, when really it was the opposite. It was the happiest moment of his life.
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It was no joke that the Rockies were only a run behind in the ninth inning of Game 4. Just moments before, Papelbon's heart, and hundreds of thousands of other hearts, skipped a beat when the obscure Jaime Carroll, in his first World Series at bat, turned on a Papelbon pitch and drove it to left field with some force that there was hope and fear, depending on your allegiance, that we had a tie game.

But Jacoby Ellsbury caught up to it at the wall. Papelbon exhaled like an inmate who'd just been taken off death row. So, no messing around with Mr. Smith.

The foundation is there for more October skirmishes, and that's fine. The answer to what $143 million can buy nowadays is clear. Just spend it wisely. The Red Sox have, and don't forget Papelbon, Pedroia, Ellsbury and Lester are playing for chump change. For now.

The suffering days are over, and there are hosannas to be sung to many.

"It's more than just the nine guys on the team," Lowell said. "You have to give credit to a lot of people. It starts with our owner, John Henry."

Even when you win it all, there is bound to be some housecleaning. Curt Schilling, Eric Gagne, Javier Lopez, Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield, Doug Mirabelli, Kyle Snyder, Eric Hinske and Bobby Kielty (if so, what a moment he exited on!) won't all be back.

As for free agents, it’s best if Theo Epstein and the braintrust move speedily on free agent Lowell, especially with A-Rod on the market now.

Sure to get a new contract is Terry Francona, the Everyman manager who the brass can have no doubts about anymore. Francona is the embodiment of selflessness that is so important in a locker room of egos.

But all this will take care of itself. Theo and the boys have given us reason to trust them. Just look at what we're sitting on. Boston's become the envy of the baseball and football world.

No sooner does the World Series trophy get passed around than the Patriots-Colts game comes along, and it feels like the Super Bowl. Fans of the campus life can focus on unbeaten Boston College. A Celtics season of usual anticipation starts Friday night.

If it all seems too much, it probably is. Step back and let it sink in.

It's not forever.

Francona was having a hard time putting another championship in its place.

"I'm supposed to have a lot of things to say and be profound, but it's hard to come up with the right words. To go through this from day one with people you really, really care about makes it really special."

Thousands of Red Sox fans made it to the games at Coors Field, but it's a big Nation, and Varitek took a moment to be mindful of them, the ones who filled Fenway Park every day and night, and the ones who were listened to Joe, Dave and Glenn on the radio and Don and Rem Dog on TV.

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